Chipping away at a bigger problem

The town of Holden has received preliminary approval to chip trees and brush in the regulated area where the U.S. Department of Agriculture says residents should be concerned about an invasive pest, the Asian Longhorned Beetle.

Town Manager Brian Bullock told the select board at its Sept. 2 meeting that the town's chippers have been certified to produce a small enough chip — and a hot enough pile of chippings — to "render inert" the beetle and its larvae.

Between 25 and 30 percent of the town, roughly from Malden Street south and west to Salisbury Street is under a kind of wood quarantine, where trees and nursery products cannot be removed, except to an area in Worcester, the disposal area at the City of Worcester Department of Public Works on Clark Street.

That constraint, imposed by the USDA, is in order to prevent the spread of this destructive pest, which feeds on the sap of live trees and eventually kills them.

The exact location of the town's chipping operation for trees and brush from the regulated area had not been decided when The Landmark went to press.

Trees and nursery products, including cut wood, cannot be removed from the regulated area; residents who have cut wood on their property can burn it in their fireplaces.

Bullock said that the USDA would be in charge of enforcement.

USDA inspectors will, in the coming months, be inspecting trees in Holden. After inspections in nearby towns, the map of the regulated area could change to include more of the town.

The pest that's causing such a ruckus came into the country through shipping from the Far East. Experts speculate that it arrived by way of wooden shipping containers and pallets. There had been outbreaks since the late 1990s in New York, New Jersey and Illinois. The pest has no natural enemies. In nearby Worcerster, where a verified infestation was found in August, the problem is being dealt with by removing some trees and treating others with insecticide. There are no insecticides available to consumers to treat the infestation at home themselves.

Homeowners are being asked to examine their susceptible trees, but experts caution that a professional examination is still necessary, and can only be done by those professionals. Much of the damage begins at the top of trees, where homeowners are unlikely to detect it. The USDA will be using bucket trucks to inspect the upper branches of susceptible trees.

What to look for?

The beetle's damage includes: shallow pits in the bark, where females lay eggs; bullet round holes, roughly a halfinch in diameter, where adults emerge from the tree after hatching; collections of rough sawdust in the crooks of branches or at the base of trees; and oozing sap. The beetle also chews away at leaves, though this damage is not harmful to the tree and can mimic damage from other insects. Sections of trees turning early might be a sign of damage to the tree.

Looking for the beetles themselves is also instructive, but the beetle resembles several other insects that are not as damaging. The Whitespotted Pine Sawyer and Cottonwood Borer are similar insects.

To report signs or symptoms of ALB, please call the Massachusetts ALB program at 508-799-8330. Reports in Massachusetts can also be made via the internet at MASSNRC.org. For more information on the ALB, please visit www. aphis.usda.gov.